X-TRA POLLS Round #7 | Do you leave your game running when you're AFK?

[Tomonor]

Greetings, Members of the X-Community!

The last poll has concluded and we've received valuable data on your gamestarts' usage.
Thank you for voting, especially if you took the liberty to voice your opinion and gave us feedback!

The next poll is: “Do you leave your game running when you're away from keyboard?”
Note: Furthermore, we'd like to know if you use SETA time acceleration if your game is running AND your routine after returning to the game (eg, what do you check first).




How does the Poll work?
Every two weeks, we’ll be rolling out polls in the forum where you can weigh in on crucial aspects of our games. Your votes will play a key role in helping us gather valuable insights to shape the future of our games!

But hold on, there’s more! Beyond just data collection, we’re keen on fostering discussions and hearing your thoughts. Alongside each poll, there’s a dedicated discussion thread going on where you can share your insights, ideas, and feedback related to the poll topic. It’s not only a great way to engage with fellow gamers but also an opportunity for us to gather additional valuable input.

However, it’s important to note that while we value your input, the results of the polls won’t necessarily guarantee implementation or consideration.
These polls are primarily for fun and data gathering.

So, get ready to have your voice heard in The X-tra Polls! Let’s shape our beloved X-Universe together!



Previous Polls:
Poll #6: Have you played multiple gamestarts?
Poll #5: What type of ship do you primarily use?
Poll #4: Which is your favourite race of the playable races?
Poll #3: How long have you been playing your current savegame?
Poll #2: Which phase do you enjoy the most in X4: Foundations?
Poll #1: In your opinion, which X4: Foundations expansion was the most worthwhile?

[alt3rn1ty]

I answered yes X4 is running all the time.

But thats now limited by how long it takes before the game starts to lag/clog up/memory leak?.
Previously with 6.20 I could have the game running all week.
With 7 Betas, overall performance has improved, but I cant run the game for more than a day or two before the game needs a restart to get back to normal ..

.. And that also depends upon if I am using SETA. Generally I dont like running SETA because occasionally things get lost/trades dont go well.
But recently I have been doing a lot of Terraforming, and dont wish to spend a lifetime waiting for projects to complete, so SETA is a necessary evil.
There have been other rare occasions I have used SETA, but its mostly been during the 3 Terraforming planets done.
When returning to the game, first thing to check is have I lost any unique or important assets .. If so, reload from last good state.

I do not lose much though, I have good rep with everyone except Kha'ak, Xenon, BUC
L Miners cope with Kha'ak, Patrols keep enemy numbers down
Xenon as usual have all been wiped out by me and other factions
So besides the pesky Kha'ak there is a good state of peace throughout the X'verse, which is how I like it.

Otherwise when not running SETA, and if one day the game doesn't seem to clog up anymore after just a couple of days, I do like to keep the game running 24/7. While sleeping/at work/AFK and not running SETA I keep the game going so the economy keeps growing and any builds keep building.

Depending upon what my goals are, really I could have answered all of the yes options, depends.

Edit: Forgot to mention, in X3TC I think there was a mechanism introduced which detected and penalised AFK behaviour .. I hated that.
We couldn't even turn it off, so was forced to be in attendance even if only to nudge the mouse periodically.
It felt like Egosoft telling me how to play the game, and also encouraged less RL excercise.
Don't do that crap again.

Edit 2: Something else needs mentioned - I also try to test every aspect of the game when involved in betas. I presume Egosoft expect the game should run for as long as the player wishes without any problems. I have been told before by Egosoft (while I was submitting a bug report) that expecting them to test any circumstance beyond a day or so running time was unreasonable ..
Honestly I dont know what to do with that revelation. How long is reasonable for a game which engages the player in such a beautifully long and complex game playthrough?.

[GCU Grey Area]

No - game is never left running unattended. I don't use SETA.

[H34Dru5H]

Never unattended, never use SETA. I play the game to relax, I don't care how long things take to happen or how long a station takes to build, etc.

[Axeface]

I have to go afk constantly because of the kids, x4's a good game for me because 1. No problem with the kids seeing it and 2. When I have to go afk I save and just leave it running.

[LameFox]

During the day when AFK/Sleeping is the most common scenario for me. I'm not going to shut down the game to go eat something, get a coffee, or sleep briefly. Chances I'll miss anything that matters are low and it's not the swiftest game to start and stop either, so I may as well leave it.

In a few specific cases I'll leave it overnight. In most of my games I don't use SETA much (if at all), and sometimes I have a bunch of manufacturing, trading, mining and so on set up, plus ships to protect it, and all I'm doing for a painfully long time is waiting for credits to buy blueprints. This is the most abjectly boring part of the game to me. I don't have much fighting to do (I'm buying blueprints, so everyone besides Xenon is friendly), and while boarding can speed it up a bit it's not engaging for even close to the length of time I'm waiting. So at that point I'll just let it go overnight for a few consecutive days. With careful setup I rarely lose ships, and the losses I do incur are rarely important.

[Alan Phipps]

The game is always either attended or paused as I play to become immersed in it and to relax and enjoy, not just to gain achievements or credits.

I only very occasionally will use SETA (still with direct supervision) when something critical but relatively slow-paced is happening - typically fleets moving to attack pre-positions, important boarding operation preparations, and escapes and/or rescues of slow and vulnerable high value assets.

(To answer an unasked question about my occasional supervised SETA use, I don't actually trust that the game will always reliably notify me if something is beginning to go horribly wrong when my attention is elsewhere in the game during a slow set up of something important. So I don't usually look away even while the slow stuff happens. )

[Vovadrik]

Save before going AFK -> going to safe ship in not busy sector for higher FPS (brick laptop ) -> launching SETA -> going AFK -> going back to game and checking messages about lost ships and tasks I wanted to wait for (e.g. station building, terraforming progress), plus checking if Xenon did something bad (usually not)
I do it whenever I need to do something like cooking food or cleaning the house etc

[Nanook]

I voted no, but technically, yes. Rather than turn it off for mealtime (or whatever), when I'm AFK, I pause the game. So the universe doesn't advance and I just go back to what I was doing when I return.

[Uwe Poppel]

The game almost never runs unattended, with the small exception of certain necessities, such as making coffee/tea, ordering pizza, etc.
SETA is the devil's stuff and has not been used since starting X3TC.

[jlehtone]

No - game is never left running unattended. I don't use SETA.

This. We do not have time for SETA.

[Thomas2052]

No, as I feel there's always something to do.

Why play a game without playing it? Even if it is to generate passive income, you can generate active income at the same time, double your money!

Mind you, I'm yet to attempt terraforming, and perhaps that might change my mind.

Regards

[xant]

I pause when I alt+tab, I pause when I take a break, I never use SETA, and the game is never, ever, left running alone, under no circumstances.

[TheDeliveryMan]

No, if I cannot attend the game it is paused. No SETA ever, I do not even bother crafting it.

[BigBANGtheory]

for me it depends on my focus task, if say its 'building station modules' then yes I like to leave it running because I find it painfully slow from traders to complete my offers and the build itself to complete

[birdtable]

Never leave running,, plus have never needed to use SETA.... always busy in game.

[Harrison_rus]

No. I always can found activity in the game. I don't use SETA but can switch on it few times for few mins when I need reach some result. (usually waiting for quest or for big ship)

[CulunTse]

No AFK for me either.
I have the universe covered in satellites, and there is always some minor disaster happening somewhere requiring my personal intervention.

I fact I often have to pause in the middle of missions to quickly assign some interceptor duty somewhere, or tell some trader to flee in a sane direction, or sick my KHK-hunters on a miner-in-distress.

My biggest fear is that a Xenon K comes through one of the gates defended by "only 5" destroyers.
If I personally intervene, that's a cakewalk, destroy the K with zero hull damage all round. If not, then usually I lose the entire fleet to AI stupidity. (3 star captains on average, with full Service-crew around 4 stars, trained on construction ships).
This happens to both my glass-cannon rattlesnake fleets, as well as my tough-hide behemoth+phoenixes.
I equip terran shields and paranid plasma, often even with equipment mods, so I don't really understand what I could do to improve this. Fighter screens? But those have horrendous attrition..

For this reason, even getting a glass of water, or alt+tab to check a station calculator, means I pause the game.

[Falcrack]

I'll sometimes leaving it running while I go and do some other chores around the house. Won't leave it on when I go to work or overnight though.

[BitByte]

Answer is no for running game when afk and no SETA. Tried SETA during tutorial (as haven't played X games before X4) but never since started real game.

I have multiple times paused the game, spent 3-4 hours doing management in my empire, saved and then quit the game as got tired (started playing late at evening) or busy due other things.
Waiting 7.00 and new DLC so I could maybe install Kingdom End to my current playthrough (assuming Xenon will not anymore perform suicide in 48-72 hours after upgrading like happened with 6.x which forced me return back to 5.10hf3b).